According to the plans, there will be a 100-metre-long, 4-metre-wide ramp with a granite block in its deeper end that can be walked around. The block will be shattered, symbolising the Hungarian nation that was divided by the peace treaty of Trianon in 1920 (and 1/4th of it still lives in the neighbouring countries). In its centre, there will be an eternal flame.https://trianon100.hu/
On the two sides of the ramp will be the names of the 12 thousand towns and villages of the Hungarian Kingdom, written in three different sizes according to their contemporary importance. The names will be used as they were in the registry of 1913. This means that not only those settlements will be written on them that were taken away by the peace treaty but also those that remained in Hungary. Therefore, it can truly symbolise national cohesion.
Orban’s government has also enacted a number of symbolic policies aimed at displaying Budapest’s commitment to Hungarian minorities living in the Carpathian Basin. These include the establishment of a Day of National Unity on June 4, provisions for ethnic Hungarians abroad to apply for Hungarian citizenship and replacement of the EU flag on the Hungarian parliament with the flag of Transylvanian ethnic Hungarians, the Szeklers.
Considering the record of the current government when it comes to memory politics, it is not surprising that the centenary of Trianon is the subject of intense debate.
Commentators worried about “irredentism”, “revisionism” and a monopolisation of the narratives around the commemorations point to the public discourse in the intellectual circles of Fidesz.
Tamas Pilhal, a leading pro-government journalist, is the exemplar of this type of discourse. He has written about the “temporary occupation” of Transylvania (by Romania) and about “our brothers taken hostage” (again, by Romania).
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